John M. "Bubba" Phillips (1965) - Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame

John M. "Bubba" Phillips

Induction:
1965

John Melvin (Bubba) Phillips is arguably the finest football player in the history of Southern Miss. As a football player he had no equal as a broken field runner and a kick returner and a defender that single-handedly could take over a game.
      The Phillips story began at Macon (Mississippi) High School when Bubba became almost a one man team according to his high school coach. In 1946 his exploits attracted national attention when he topped the nation's prep scorers with a total of 235 points. He ran, passed, punted, kicked-off, kicked extra points, caught passes and backed up the line on defense.
      The story of his arrival at Southern Miss is a legend in itself. It seems that he was riding the train from Macon to Louisiana State to begin his career there, but the train had to make a stop in Hattiesburg and the Southern coaches convinced him to remain and play for them. The rest as they say is history.
      Phillips immediately became a star for Southern Miss. In fact in his very first collegiate game against Alabama in 1947, he raced 74 yards for a touchdown and he would finish the year as the team's leading rusher with 78 carries for 659 yards (8.4 average) and four touchdowns. He also caught three passes for 90 yards (30.0 average) and a touchdown. The versatile halfback also led the team in kickoff returns (20.3 average), punt returns (7.1 average), scoring (30 points) and tied for the team lead in interceptions with 4.
      The 1948 campaign would see Phillips rush 78 yards for 831 yards (10.5 average) and eight touchdowns, catch a pass for 33 yards, lead the team in kickoff returns (23.3) and return two of them for touchdowns, return 17 punts for a 12.6 yard average, lead the team in scoring with 60 points and tie for the team lead in interceptions with 7. He was named to the all-Gulf States Conference team.
      Phillips would do it all in 1949 and 1950 as well. In 1949 he led the team in rushing again with 63 carries for 492 yards (7.9 average), led the team in interceptions with a then school record eight and average 28.0 yards on six punt returns. In 1950 he led the team in rushing for a fourth straight year with 92 carries for 545 yards (5.9 average), led the team in interceptions with six and led in punt returns with a 19.1 average and led in scoring with 54. He was named to the all-conference team both seasons and in 1949 earned honorable mention All-America honors.
      He finished his career with 2,527 yards rushing and an average of 8.1 yards per carry and is the school's second all-time leading scorer with 216 points.
      As a standout baseball player for Southern he played well enough to earn a professional contract with the Detroit Tigers following the 1948 season and played in the major leagues for several seasons with the Tigers, Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians.
            Phillips was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1972